1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to tire tread depth gauges used to measure tread depth on motor vehicle tires.
2. Background of the Invention
This invention pertains to devices, commonly referred to as tire tread gauges, that are used to measure the remaining tread on tires used on motor vehicles.
Many automobile accidents occur every day in the United States. A significant number of these are caused by tires that have insufficient tread left on them to allow the drivers to retain control of their vehicles while driving, stopping or cornering, especially on wet pavement. Most of these accidents could be prevented if drivers would regularly check the remaining tread on their tires and determine if sufficient tread was present to allow safe operation of their vehicles.
Previously existing gauges have generally been composed of two elements, a static housing and a slide-able rod or bar. One of the two elements is marked with a graduated scale and the other is marked with a single mark that aligns with the zero/starting point on the graduated scale when there is no remaining tread on the tire. To use, the static housing is placed against the outside/top edge of the tire tread and the slide-able element is inserted into a groove in the tire tread. This causes the graduated scale to move relative to the single mark (or vice versa) with the resulting position of one relative to the other indicating the remaining tread depth.
The problem is that these tire tread depth gauges have not been of a size and shape that people want to carry on a consistent basis and are therefore not readily available to regularly check for safe tread depth.